NEW DELHI: This festive season Italian truffles, French organic Acacia honey, Californian apples, Turkish apricots and table olives are giving stiff competition to what has traditionally been the gold standard of festive gift packs-chocolates.

Retail chains such as Big Bazaar, Nature's Basket, Spencer's Retail and Le Marche say demand for niche and unusual gift options has more than doubled this season, giving competition to chocolates such as Ferrero Roche and Lindt that have been contributing more than 60% of all festive gift packs.

"Customers seem to be willing to try many more exotic products for their gifting needs this year compared to earlier years. The focus is clearly on the niche appeal of gifting and moving away from mass and common place gifting ideas," Mohit Khattar, MD of Godrej group-promoted gourmet food chain Nature's Basket, says.

Retailers say this rush for unusual choices-which incidentally offer them higher margins as well-is not only driven by the elite but also by the high-spending middle class, kindling hopes of brisk festive gift sales despite a subdued economic environment.Khattar says fast-moving products at Nature's Basket this season include white and red wines, Italian pastas, pasta sauces, cheese and vinegars, Thai sauces and sunflower seeds. The gourmet chain is offering more than 30 different hampers besides customising gifting solutions.

The unlikely gift items at top retailer Future Group's Big Bazaar outlets include festive packs of LipIce lip gloss and Gillette men's grooming products-both a first for festive gifting.

"The number of promotions has almost doubled this year. Though gifting on Diwali is a deep-rooted tradition, it is also seen as a status symbol," says Devendra Chawla, president of food and grocery chain Food Bazaar. "For the first time, this year, it's also food plus other categories, though chocolates remain the core of gifting," he adds.

The chain, like rival RPG Group's Spencer's Retail, is also betting big on gourmet food, which has moved beyond five-star hotels. Like specialised chains like Nature's Basket and Le Marche, these mass organised retailers too have almost doubled stocks in their specialised gourmet sections.

Consultancy firm Technopak estimates the gourmet food category in the country at Rs 6,000-6,500 crore, and expects it to double over the next four years.

HEALTH PUSH

New-age categories with health connotations like olive oil too are hoping to cash in on the trend.

"Our gift hampers this season, specially in gourmet chains like Nature's Basket and Le Marche, are a way to enter consumer households and build franchise with them," says Rajneesh Bhasin, MD at Borges India, the Indian arm of Spanish olive oils producer and exporter Borges that began operations in the country two years ago.

The Rs 350-crore olive oils category has been growing at a compounded annual rate of 50%-60%.

Spencer's, which also runs a chain of cafe bakeries Au Bon Pain, has introduced gift baskets that include foods like chilli cheese sticks and home-made rusk in the range of Rs 249 to Rs 999.

"The gifting baskets concept is new for us and we expect high off take in the season," Sanjay Gupta, executive director (marketing & business development) at Spencer's Retail, says.

Despite challenges like poor infrastructure and sourcing facilities, especially in the case of temperature-controlled products such as meats and cheeses, retailers and marketers are hoping to make a killing in the niche gift market this festive season.